


checkmate

by coorelightgrey



Category: Sengoku Basara
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-22 14:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17061383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coorelightgrey/pseuds/coorelightgrey
Summary: "After a moment of contemplation, he moves a white pawn forward. Only a second later, he finds a black pawn poised and ready to attack.“Finally got your attention, didn’t I?”"or: the One-Eyed Dragon versus the musical genius.





	checkmate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [machuba](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machuba/gifts).



> (true title: "motonari is An Gay: the fic")
> 
> apparently i only write for jerome nowadays? happy birthday sweet bee i adore you enough to write you datenaris in the year of our lord 2018
> 
> i took some inspiration from gakuen basara for the setting/background info but i also just... kinda did what i wanted lmao

Motonari knows Masamune - or more accurately, knows _of_ him. The loudly self-proclaimed “One-Eyed Dragon”, ace of the baseball team, with a cool exterior and an icy hot temper.

Motonari knows of Masamune, but he has no interest in knowing him beyond that. Their relationship is as close to “strictly professional” as a high school band (reluctantly, on most days) cheering on a sports team gets. He’s not interested in getting along with people, least of all with someone as cocky and headstrong as Masamune.

So he doesn’t get why Masamune’s suddenly sitting across from him like they’re _friends_ , staring him down with an unwavering eye.

“So. You’re Mouri, right?”

Gaze focused downward, Motonari ignores Masamune in favor of the chess board before him. White and black pieces stand perfectly poised, ready to be played in a match against the only person Motonari finds worthy of his time: himself.

Music is his passion - his truest calling, really, giving birth to symphonic masterpieces that only he can create - but strategy games were... a bit of a treat, really. Chess matches and simulations keep his mind sharp while inspiration runs dry.

After a moment of contemplation, he moves a white pawn forward. Only a second later, he finds a black pawn poised and ready to attack.

“Finally got your attention, didn’t I?”

Motonari meets Masamune’s confident ( _infuriating_ ) grin with a sharp exhale through his nostrils. A normal person might’ve taken the hint and left him alone by this point - but if there’s anything he’s learned while attending this school, it’s that a lot of its students are far from normal. “What do you want?”

Masamune crosses his arms. “I have nothing against you, really. You can act all high and mighty and spend all your time holed up in this place of yours -” He waves a hand lazily to the room around them - the music room, practically Motonari’s home away from home, where few enter without his permission. “- for all I care. But I’m here to say this.”

He holds three black pawns between his fingers and points them toward Motonari’s face. “When you’re on my field, you play by _my_ rules, got that?”

“Hm.” Motonari moves another white pawn - a classic opener, the Queen’s Gambit - and regards him with a bored expression. “Is that all you’re here to tell me? If so, then I will ask you to leave. You’re wasting my time.”

“Heh.” Without breaking eye contact, Masamune knocks over one of Motonari’s pawns and puts his own in its place. The Queen’s Gambit Accepted. “Wouldn’t it be fun to play against someone for once? Though, I wouldn’t be too surprised if you felt scared to face me.”

That grabs Motonari’s attention. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Masamune leans forward, his good eye glinting in the afternoon sun. “It’s your move, Mouri. So why don’t you try and take your best shot?”

Motonari’s eyebrow twitches. Masamune is baiting him. He’s baiting him and he knows it, but he purses his lips all the same and relishes the thought of wiping that shit-eating grin off his face.

With poised, delicate fingers, he picks up one of his knights and levels Masamune with a glare.

“I’ll make you choke on those words.”

 

****

 

Days turn into weeks, weeks to months, and Motonari no longer just knows of Masamune - he honest to god _knows_ Masamune. No matter how many stone walls he builds, the One-Eyed Dragon of Basara Academy, with confidence and charisma in spades, knocks them down with a single swipe of his claws. Over time, as Masamune forces himself into Motonari’s life, he finds himself less and less put off by his presence.

Though loathe to admit it, he looks forward to their chess and shogi matches. Motonari’s long past underestimating him ( _he’s smarter than he looks_ ), spending many hours replaying moves and coming up with strategies in his head long after they’ve both left school. And while it’s annoying losing to Masamune, the frustration makes the victories sweeter.

But it’s not the comfortable strategy game routines they fall into that surprises Motonari the most - it’s how _drawn_ he is to Masamune. Truly, he is a pain in the ass - annoying, aggravating, and much too ambitious for Motonari’s liking - but his attention drifts to him all the same. As he watches Masamune pitch, laptop full of sheet music closed on his lap, he realizes what makes people like him so much.

Why _he_ likes him, even.

 

****

 

When he grabs a fistful of his collar and yanks him down for a kiss, he thinks finally, _finally_ he’s been able to truly catch Masamune off guard. But the thought lasts but a beat before he feels a hand taking a hold of him tightly, keeping him locked in place, and control of the kiss snatched away almost effortlessly.

Motonari hates how he doesn’t mind this - not even a little bit.


End file.
